A Kid’s-eye View of Friendship

Posted by Newsletter Editor on February 25th, 2014

Photo by naoyafujii

It’s amazing just how many big thoughts can be boiled down to a simple idea. Take the topic of friendship. Ask an adult what friendship is, and you’ll probably get a rather detailed and (possibly) dull answer. Maybe a laugh and an embarrassing story. Ask one of the younger set, and you’ll discover that friendship is as straightforward as a smile.

How can you tell if someone is a friend?

Mu’aadh (8 years old): If you ask them, they say so.

Alex C. (7 years old): They are nice to you and you have fun with them.

Brianna (9 years old): They play with you.

Katie (5 1/2 years old): If they’re very friendly.

What does it mean to have a best friend?

Max (7 years old): Something really important.

Alex S. (7 years old): She copies me sometimes.

Isaac (7 years old): They are your closest friend. If you had a list of friends, your best friend would be at the top.

Maryam (6 years old): It means that you’re nice to people if you’re a best friend, because if you’re mean to them they won’t want to be your friend.

Do your friends have to be just like you, or can they be different from you and from each other?

Maryam: They can be different from each other – it’s nice to have it different because otherwise no one would know who was who.

Katie: They can be different. They talk different, and Ava has black hair and I have light brown.

Mu’aadh: They can be different. It’s nice for them to be different because then they aren’t like you, so you can have someone who likes you who isn’t LIKE you.

Do you sometimes get mad at your friends?

Isaac: No! I never get mad at my friends. Well, sometimes I get mad.

Alex C.: Yes, because they boss me around.

Brianna: Yeah. Sometimes they don’t want to play the game that I’m playing, but I don’t stay mad a long time.

Katie: Not really. Sometimes. They kicked me accidentally, but I got over it pretty fast.

Alex S.: Sometimes. My friend said that I said a bad word, but I really didn’t. That made me mad.

Maryam: Sometimes I get mad at them if they beat up on me or if they get me in trouble.